Breech-loading ordnance.



0. W. BARTHOLMES.

BREEGH LOADING ORDNANGE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13. 1902. N0 MODEL.

Wit" eons UNITED STATES Patented July 26,1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES W. BARTHOLMES, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECTAND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO AMERICAN MACHINE & ORDNANCE COMPANY ANDAMERICAN AND BRITISH MANUFACTUR- IN (1 COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,CORPORATIONS OF NEW YORK.

BREECH-LOADING ORDINANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 765,805, dated. July26, 1904.

Application filed November 13, 1902. Serial No. 131,194. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES W. BARTHOL- MES, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBreech-Loading Ordnance; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to improvements in breech-loading ordnance, andparticularly to an improved sear therefor, the object being to provide asear especially adapted for use in connection with automatic andsemi-automatic guns, the object sought in the firstmentioned type ofguns being the provision of a sear which will automatically engage andrelease the hammer or which may be so controlled as to permit of thefiring of a single round, if desired, and in the last-mentioned class ofguns the provision of a sear which will insure positive engagement ofthe hammer when the latter is retracted irrespective of whether or notthe lanyard is released by the operator. I

l/Vith the above objects in view the invention consists in the novelfeatures of construction hereinafter fully described, particularlypointed out in the claims, and clearly illustrated by the accompanyingdrawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a Vertical sectional view of agun-breech provided with my improved sear, the hammer being cocked readyfor firing; Fig. 2, a detached view of one member of the sear, showingthe same in side and edge elevation; and Fig. 3, a similar view of theother member of the sear.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, 1indicates the gunbreech; 2, the breech-block, which is of the drop-blocktype; 3, the hammer; 4, the hammer-spring, and 5 the sleeve or hub ofthe hammer secured to the shaft 6, mounted in the block and providedwith a shoulder or detent 7. The above is the ordinary construction ofHotchkiss gun, in connection with which I have here illustrated anddescribed a my improved sear. In a gun of this type provided with asemi-automatic attachment, as that shown and described in Patent No.673,594, dated May 7, 1901, upon counter recoil the block isautomatically moved downwardly to unmask the bore of the gun, the hammeris retracted, and a spring energized to move the block to close thebreech, when said block is released by the insertion of a freshcartridge. In the case of the ordinary sear designed to engage thehammer when the latter is retracted and operated to release the same bya pull upon the lanyard it is possible to prevent the sear from engagingthe hammer upon retraction of the latter by the continuation of therearward pull upon the lanyard by the operator sufiiciently to retardthe actuating-spring of the sear, and consequently the hammerimmediately drops back to fired position, necessitating recocking byhand. This difficulty is avoided by my improved sear, in which provisionis made for an engagement of the hammer regardless of whether or not theoperator has released the sear by discontinuing the pull upon thelanyard.

In a gun of the above-mentioned type provided with means whereby itsentire action is automatic it is necessary to provide a scar which willautomatically engage and hold the hammer retracted until the gun isloaded and the breech closed and then be automatically operated torelease the hammer, and it is also desirable to provide a sear by meansof which the rounds of ammunition may be fired singly at the will of theoperator. By the provision of my improved sear the above results areaccomplished in a very eifective manner.

Referring now more particularly to my invention, 9 designates theprimary member of her corresponds to the sears now in general use and isprovided with an arm 10, to which the lanyard is attached, and with adetent 11, adapted to coact with the shoulder or detent 7 when thehammer is retracted for the purpose of holding said hammer in thatposition until disengaged therefrom by a pull upon the lanyard. Pivotedat the same point is the secondary member 12, which is bifurcated, thebifurcations 13 receiving between them the primary member 10. Thissecondary member is also provided with a detent 14:, adapted to engagethe detent of the hammer. A coiled spring 15 in a recess in the blocktends to force said secondary member in engagement with the sleeve ofthe hammer, and a smaller coiled spring 16, placed within said spring15, engages and normally presses said primary member in engagement withsaid sleeve. The secondary member is provided with an arm 17, extendingon the opposite side of its pivot to the detent 14:, and this arm isprovided with an adjustable contacting portion in the form of a screw18.

The action of my invention in a semi-automatic gun hereinbeforementioned is as follows: Assuming that the breech is closed and the guncocked ready for firing, the primary member is disengaged by therearward pull of the lanyard, the rearward movement being limited to anamount necessary to unlock the hammer. The counter recoil of the gun inconjunction with the semi-automatic attachment opens the breech,allowing the secondary member to engage the hammer, as will also theprimary member when not prevented by retention of the lanyard. A roundis inserted in the breech and the block released to be automaticallymoved to close the breech. By the movement of the block the secondarymember is released, the contact portion 18 coming in contact with thegun-housing. The primary sear, however, is not released from the hammer,but holds the same cocked until the lanyard is drawn upon. If after thegun has been fired by the pull upon the lanyard and the lanyard is notreleased or slackened sufliciently to permit the primary sear to be inposition to engage and hold the hammer retracted, the hammer will notdrop back to fired position immediately, as it will be engaged by thesecondary sear.

In a full automatic gun by a continued pull upon the lanyard the gun isfired automatically as soon as the secondary sear is tripped by themovement of the block. A single round may be fired at the will of theoperator by simply slackening the lanyard and permitting the primarysear to engage the hammer.

I do not limit my invention to the exact details of construction hereinshown and described, as it will be apparent that many modifications andvariations might be made without departing from the scope thereof.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a gun having a vertically-movable block, the combination with thehammer, of a primary sear pivotally mounted in said block and adapted tohold the hammer retracted, a spring having a tendency to force said searin engagement with the hammer, a secondary sear pivotally mounted in theblock and having an engagingportionfiadapted to engage and hold saidhammer retracted, and a tripping portion disposed to contact with thewall of the gun and disengage the engaging portion from the hammer whenthe block is moved to closed position, and a spring having a tendency toforce said secondary sear in engagement with the hammer, substantiallyas described.

2. In a gun, the combination with the hammer, of a sear adapted toautomatically engage and hold the hammer retracted, a tripping portioncarried by said sear adapted to effect the disengagement of the searfrom the hammer by the movement of the block in closing the breech, andmeans for adjusting said portion to vary the time of tripping of thesear, substantially as described.

3. In a gun, the combination with the hammer, of a sear comprising twomembers disposed in position to engage the hammer when the latter isretracted and hold the same in that position, one of the membersarranged to be manually operated to release the hammer, and the othermember arranged to be automatically operated to release the hammer, andtwo coiled springs arranged one within the other, one of said springsengaging one of said sear members and the other passing through saidmember and engaging the other sear member.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affiXed my signature in thepresence of two witnesses.

CHARLES W. BARTHOLMES. Witnesses:

W. H. BEVANS, A. R. J ONES.

It is hereby certified that Letters Patent N 0. 765,805, granted July26, 1904, upon the application of Charles W. Bartholmes, of Bridgeport,Connecticut, for an improvement in Breech-Loading Ordnance, waserroneously issued to the American Machine & Ordnance Company andAmerican and British Manufacturing Company, of New York, N. Y.,corporations of NewYork, as joint owners of said invention; whereas thepatent should have been granted to said American and Britishlllanufacturing Company, of New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York,it being sole owner of the entire interest as shown by the assignmentsof record in the Patent Ofiice; and that the said Letters Patent shouldbe read with this correction therein that the same may conform to therecord of the case in the Patent 051%.

Signed and sealed this 16th day of August, A. D., 1904.

[SEAL] E. B. MOORE,

Acting Commissioner of Patents.

It is hereby certified that Letters Patent No. 765,805, granted July 26,1904, upon the application of Charles W. Bartholmes, of Bridgeport,Connecticut, for an improvement in Breech-Loading Ordnance, waserroneously issued to the American Machine 8: Ordnance Company andAmerican and British Manufacturing Company, of New York, N. Y.,corporations of New York, as joint owners of said invention; whereas thepatent should have been granted to said American and BritishManufacturing Company, of New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York, itbeing sole owner of the entire interest as shown by the assignments ofrecord in the Patent Oflice and that the said Letters Patent should beread with this correction therein that the same may conform to therecord of the case in the Patent Ofiice.

Signed and sealed this 16th day of August, A. 1)., 1904.

[SEAL] E. B. MOORE,

I Acting Commissioner 0f Patents.

